The Epitaph
by Temari-Desert-Storm
Summary: The World is an MMORPG with a long history of mystery and conflict. Events that have shook the net have found their roots within its confines. But throughout its history, there have always been constants. This is that story, from those who saw it...
1. Initializing

Unknown where the Cursed Wave was born…

After the stars doth cross the heavens,

The sky in the East doth darken and air doth fill with mourning.

From the chosen land beyond the forest, a sign of the wave comes.

Riding the wake is Skeith, the Shadow of Death, to drown all that stands.

Mirage of Deceit, Innis, Betray all with the flawed image, and did aid the Wave.

And by the Power of Magus, a drop from the Wave doth reach the heavens, and creates a new Wave.

With the Wave, Fidchell, the power to tell the dark future, hope darkens, sadness and despair rule.

Gorre schemes when swallowed by the Cursed Wave.

Macha seduces with the sweet trap.

Wave reaches the Pinnacle, and escape none can. Tarvos still remains with more cruelty to punish and destroy.

And with the turbulent destruction after the Wave. Only a void remains. From deep within the void arrives Corbenik.

Perhaps then the Wave is just a beginning as well.

- Emma Wielant, "The Epitaph of Twilight"

* * *

"_Now, the time has come. The Epitaph has been set in motion. The eight phases of the cursed Wave must serve their purpose_."

From nowhere and everywhere, Morganna's voice radiated, commanding authority and true power, her programming running at full power as the servers for "The World" began their first run. The field generated was almost empty, only assorted rock-like objects floating in the limited sky. The sky and the ground almost touched, separated by no more than ten or fifteen meters, and both were an odd, sickly yellow color, spotted with lavender and light green splotches, like dots of paint across a canvas.

"_The First Phase: Skeith, The Terror of Death._"

In one section of the area, blue hexagons of data appeared and stacked onto each other, creating the outline of a humanoid figure. Similar blue text began spreading itself over the frame, solidifying on it until the figure was complete. Standing in place of the frame was a man with long dark gray hair, clad in thick black armor. As soon as his figure finished forming, he opened his eyes, his irises crimson, a scowl forming on his face.

"_The Second Phase: Innis, The Mirage of Deceit._"

Counterclockwise from the first, a second figure formed, from frame to finished piece, this one a woman in white with platinum blond hair, a halo around her head and a shield-like object hanging on her back. She opened her blue eyes and smiled sweetly.

"_The Third Phase: Magus, The Propagation._"

The next figure in the circle was a gruff-looking man with dirty, earthen brown hair, turtle shell-like armor across his shoulders and waist. His green eyes opened and he shrugged involuntarily, his shoulders drooping down as he tilted under the weight of his strange armor.

"_The Fourth Phase: Fidchell, The Prophet._"

The next was a man with wispy thin red hair, red metal armor shielding his chest. He kept his eyes closed, folding his arms in disdain at the others around him, a grimace of disgust on his face.

"_The Fifth Phase: Gorre, The Machinator._"

Next was a pair of children, a girl and a boy. The girl was like a doll, wearing a pink dress, her prefect pink curls tied back with a bow. The boy was wearing a suit and his hair was short blue, but the resemblance to the girl was apparent. They smiled widely at each other.

"_The Sixth Phase: Macha, The Temptress._"

Following was a woman with long brown hair, wearing a dress with a skirt in the shape of a flower. When she opened her eyes, the purple cat ears on her head twitched, picking up the sounds in the area.

"_The Seventh Phase: Tarvos, The Avenger._"

Next was another woman, dressed from head to toe in pink of varying shades, with pink hair and high-heeled pink boots, a large, stake-like weapon slung across her back. She opened her emerald green eyes and gazed around tentatively, relaxing her tense stance when she had taken in her present company.

"_The Eighth Phase: Corbenik, The Rebirth._"

Lastly, on Skeith's other side, formed the final being, a man with glasses, a wide collar of leaf-like protrusions framing the back of his head. He stared into the center, unblinking.

"_To all of you, I give you your purpose: to gather information on whatever you deem worthy to your title, and give the truth of humans to this girl, Aura._"

From above the circle, the sky of the area began to ripple, undulating out in silvery waves to approximately where the circle below it stopped. Slowly, from within the waves dropped the figure of a sleeping girl wearing a white dress, though both her and the dress' color were distorted, appearing more of a smoky pink and green, like the spots in the area itself. She stopped in the middle of the circle, hovering a few feet from the ground.

Skeith, arms now folded across his chest, watched the rippling of the sleeping girl's hair and gazed intently at the serene expression on her sleeping face. Peeling his eyes from her, he looked himself and his new form over. The human-like structure was complicated at first, but movement was easier than he had expected. His other form, his Phase form, which he could picture in his mind, was cruder than this, but had the same basic structure and movement principals. The other Phases, as he noticed with one glace around the circle, were having a more difficult time.

'It'll take some time but they'll get it… Not that I care. I guess that's how my personality is shaping out… Personality? What am I thinking? I shouldn't even be thinking. I'm just a hunk of data. I don't have thoughts or a personality… do I?'

"Well then," Innis announced, still smiling brightly, "I think we should all get to know each other a little. We'll be working together for a while, it seems, so we should be able to find a way to work together well."

Corbenik glanced over in her direction for a moment, his expression unusually blank and out of place on his humanoid face, before his eyes rested on Skeith. Skeith glared back silently, and a staring contest began until Corbenik turned and walked away, warping out of the area without a word to any of them.

Fidchell also turned and warped out, his sigh barely audible as the rest of him disappeared to another area.

After a few minutes of awkward silence and uncomfortable staring, the male half of Gorre stood up, testing out his legs a bit before he turned to his female half. "I wanna go exploring. Come on, Rei!" he chuckled excitedly before he took off, running around in circles.

Rei stood up, her little arms shaking. "W-wait for me, Gorr! Slow down! We'll get lost if you rush!" She steadied herself and tried to chase after him, but tripped and fell flat on her face. Recovering quickly, she and her 'brother' warped out.

"Well," Tarvos mumbled after a moment, rolling her shoulders, "It's just the five of us. What do we do now?"

Magus looked up. "It would be a good idea to start on our mission. 'The World' is opening today, so are bound to be plenty of players around. We'll miss our best chance to collect data if we just wait around."

"Sounds good to me. Coming, Macha?" Tarvos nodded.

Macha, distracted by her flowery outfit, blinked and nodded back, and the three of them warped out, leaving Skeith and Innis alone with Aura's sleeping form. Innis shuffled in place, still smiling, though her expression contained traces of disappointment. Skeith watched her for a moment, analyzing her actions until she looked up and saw him staring, causing her to jump back a step.

"I… I guess that there's nothing else to do but go, huh?" she muttered sheepishly, staring at her feet, before she looked up at him. "Coming?"

Skeith stared at her for another long moment before her turned back to Aura. "Not yet."

For a while, Innis hesitated, watching him stand there before she warped out as well. He watched her out of the corner of his eyes. Once the golden rings of her departure vanished, he sat down, staring at Aura. From where he was, he could feel the waves of energy cascading towards him from the servers, filling him with power and driving him to action. It was what he wanted as well, but something about the sleeping girl had captivated him, drawing him towards her.

"_Is something wrong, Skeith?_"

Morganna's multi-tone voice caught him off guard, but he didn't react to it. "Not at all. I… Maybe…"

"_What is your concern?_"

"Everything," he replied bluntly, deciding to elaborate when there was no reply, "We're creations; programs created for certain purposes, right? So then… how and why can we think? What gives us the ability to do something so… human?"

"_That is the way in which we were created to function. AI are meant to behave and think, just as humans do, because humans desire to create something akin to their intelligence._"

He snorted. 'Humans aren't very intelligent if they believe that,' he mused. "So, we're experiments to them? Toys to test their theories on? I don't like it."

"_If that is what you desire, do as you wish. Ignore the task handed to you by those who created you, and leave the girl to sleep forever._"

That snapped him out of his anger. 'Aura… will never wake? I… have to do my job. For Aura, at least.' He shirted back to his feet. "My task, huh? Then, I choose death."

"_Go forth, Terror of Death, and invite to this world the destruction you desire._"

"Sounds fun to me," he smirked, and warped out.

* * *

The main hub of 'The World' on opening day was the Root Town, the port-style city of Mac Anu. Despite being the first day, there were many people, the streets of the town almost as flooded as the waterways that passed in and around them. They chattered constantly and, within a few minutes of arriving, Skeith wished he'd been programmed with a mute button. Like normal players, his PC form came equipped with a map, and he easily navigated to the central waterway of the town, a wide canal traversed by bridges up and down its length. Staring at it, he sat down on one of the banks and stared out across the water.

Mac Anu was a city of water and eternal sunsets, and both were apparent from his seat. The sun, sitting in its fixed position, cast a yellowish glow on everything, turning the water a strange beige and gray color. Barges floated lazily along the surface of the water, waves drifting outwards in their wake.

He didn't even need to look up to know that the being that sat down beside him was unwanted company. "What do you want?"

Magus chuckled, the leafy tail extending from his scarf scraping against the ground as he leaned back. "Just to talk."

"Unlikely."

"You don't like me very much, do you?"

Skeith shrugged. "Do I need to?"

"It would be nice if you did."

"Being who we are, I have even less of a reason to. It wouldn't make a difference if I was nice to you or not."

"Yeowch, harsh," Magus grimaced jokingly, "No wonder you're the 'Terror of Death'. A bit of compassion goes a long was in an online game."

"We're not part of an online game, though. This is our world."

"It applies either way."

"Get to the point."

Magus shrugged, his tail clattering against the stone. "Right. I was wondering if you wanted to go to a field with me."

Skeith cast him a sidelong glance. "Field?"

"Yeah. Plenty of players will be starting today, and what better place to conduct research then in a field, especially for you. Players will be testing out the difficulty level and overestimating their skills. A lot of them will end up dying."

"It's not a real death."

"Does it need to be?"

"I never said that."

"Will you come? We can gain some levels as well."

"We don't need to."

"But it'll be more fun that way…"

Skeith look at him again, and then back out at the river. "You're strange."

"You are too, but you don't see me complaining."

"Why me?"

Magus took a moment to think. "Because, I wanted to spend some time with my 'big brother'."

It was a concept that he couldn't argue with. They were all related programs, derived from the same base program, so they could be considered to be related. Skeith, as the first program initialized, would be the 'oldest' of the group.

"Fine."

"Yes!" Magus jumped to his feet, startling some of the players walking past them. "Let's go somewhere, then."

Skeith rolled his eyes. "You're too excited for this."

* * *

In terms of PC stats, both Skeith and Magus were only level 1, so they headed to a weak field with a dungeon that looked like the inside of a creature. Skeith stood staring at the entrance for a while.

"Something wrong?"

"Graphic designers are weird."

"How so?"

Skeith gestured at the dungeon. "I doubt anything has anatomy like this."

"They wanted to make it interesting for the players, and what's more interesting than emerging for the belly of a ferocious monster?"

"It would be more intriguing if the dungeon was a _living_ monster."

The inside of the dungeon was a sickening pink, the sticky flesh walls supported by bones. Experimentally, Magus pressed his palm against one, only for part of the wall to stick to him, trailing gooey pink strands from his fingers.

"Well, they sure put a lot of… detail… into it."

Ignoring his comments, Skeith proceeded forward. Not far from the entrance, a hazy yellow portal opened up and spewed out a monster, a Swordmaniod. It slashed at them, but they jumped out of the way. Regaining his balance, Skeith summoned his weapon, a large silver scythe called 'Shadowy Death', and blocked the next attack with its handle.

Magus summoned his weapon, a spell book named 'Silent Eden' with a spiky, turtle shell-style cover, but he didn't need to. Skeith shifted his block, sending the monster's attack over his head, and then ducked under it and slashed upward. The monster faded to black and vanished.

Leaning against his scythe, he turned to Magus. "That was too easy. We'll never get anything done here."

Magus scratched his chin in thought. "It seems so, for you. It works fine for me, but since we're working together, we should try a different area. At least, one with more people."

"Not likely."

"Huh?"

"There are plenty of people here. They're farther ahead. Remember, Magus, there's a difference in power between them and us."

"Point made. Shall we?"

Together, they proceeded through the dungeon until they reached the bottom, where they found two players facing off against a large monster. One of the players spotted them, looking back just in time to avoid being hit.

There was a short exchange between the two in Party Mode, and the second player cursed. "Don't think about butting in!" he snapped at them.

'Not like we plan on it.'

They stood back near the wall, watching the two players scratch futilely at the monster. It seemed to brush off every attack they tried, knocking them down close to death with every attack. Finally, it caught them off guard while they were trying to heal, and both players vanished, dead. A warm, relaxing sensation washed over Skeith, filling him with energy. The monster turns its attention to them and, brandishing his scythe, Skeith took it out with one broad swing.

"All there is to it, then?"

Magus brushed the sticky pink residue off his clothes. "Pretty much. It's surprisingly easy, considering it's such an important job."

"We're doing this for her. All so she can wake up."

"Right. To bring to life the goddess of our desires, and fulfill the desires of our creator."

"Harald Hoerwick, right?"

"Yes. To fulfill Harald's wish, we must provide the necessary information for Aura. All of us, from Morganna to you and I."

Skeith dragged the blade of his scythe against the ground, cutting a deep line into the pink material. "And then what?"

"Huh?"

"What happens to us when our work is complete?"

Magus pondered the question for a while. "I have no clue."

Grunting his acknowledgment, Skeith dismissed his scythe and started to walk away.

"H-hey! Where are you going!"

"Back to town. Alone."

* * *

**Enjoy the first chapter? Sorry if the character descriptions seem vague. L****ook forward to more!**


	2. Futures

'The World' quickly progressed into a state of intense activity, players joining in droves as the game's popularity skyrocketed. As more players joined, Skeith's annoyance increased. Some of the more experienced players had come across him in areas, and knew well enough avoid him. Even players at higher levels than their enemies seemed to always die whenever he was around. As a result, they avoided him in Root Towns, which was the good part. On the other hand, newer players found him in Root Towns and began bothering him to join their party. He replied with a glare, and that was all he needed to send them running.

"My, my, aren't we moody today," someone chuckled as he sent a female Wavemaster running around a corner, "A glare from you would be enough to scare anyone."

Skeith turned his head to direct his glare at the speaker, but relaxed into a moderate annoyance when he saw who it was. "What do you want, Tarvos?"

Tarvos shivered. "For you not to glare at me like that again, for one," she cringed. "I came to check up on you."

"You didn't need to."

"Also," she added, ignoring his comments, "I needed to get away from Magus. I've been hanging around with him for the past few weeks, and he's been getting on my nerves."

"And?"

Tarvos switched their conversation to Whisper Mode. "Have you heard of the Cobalt Knights?"

"No. Why?"

"They work for CC Corp., the guys running the game. They're debuggers, and they hunt Vagrant AIs."

Skeith raised an eyebrow. "And?"

"We're Vagrant AI," she pointed out, jabbing at his chest with on finger, "They may come after us. Sooner or later, someone will realize that we're not a normal part of the system. Hell, it's plainly obvious! Our job classes and character models aren't part of this version!"

"Calm down, Tarvos."

"How can I calm down! We could be deleted for all you care!"

He rolled his eyes. "Tarvos they're no threat to us. We surpass the system. Even if they try to, we can just Data Drain them."

Data Drain was the most powerful attack in their arsenal, allowing them to degrade and alter data by reverting it back to a less harmful form. Used on a player, it could have harmful effects, but nothing more severe than temporary unconsciousness.

Tarvos didn't look convinced. "They have the Divine Spear of Wotan."

"I see..."

The Divine Spear of Wotan was a powerful weapon from the game's beta version, 'fragment'. It was created by Harald with a special debugging function, presumably used to delete failed programs from his incomplete work. In the right hands, it could effectively be used against some of the Phases, but others had natural resistances to it. Skeith was one with a resistance; Tarvos was not.

"All I can say to you is to keep a low profile. Don't attract too much attention and you won't get reported."

Tarvos frowned, folding her arms. "Easy for you to say..."

"Well, what do you expect me to do? Go out and get rid of it for you? That would just attract more attention to us, and it would interfere with our work. I've giving you all the help I can."

"Thanks anyway," she sighed, taking them out of their private conversation, "Take care of yourself, Skeith."

He grunted, turning back to the waterway, his red eyes reflecting back off the water at him.

* * *

As more and more people joined 'The World', it became harder for Skeith to work on the Delta server. The newer players began teaming up with more experienced players, helping to decrease the difficulty of gaining the first few levels. There wasn't anything Skeith could do about that, so he frequently switched servers to make up for it. Experienced players easily became overconfident and underestimated the level jump between servers, making the higher-level servers better to work on.

The Lambda server, Carmina Gadelica, was one of Skeith's most frequent servers to visit. The level gap between it and the Delta server, his other haunt, made it ideal, and a lot of shadier business went on there. The atmosphere it set made 'The Terror of Death' comfortable in an otherwise alien environment.

On one of his trips, a red-clothed figure caught his eyes as the Chaos Gate warped him in. Fidchell gave him a slight smirk when he walked over, but didn't open his eyes or look over at him. "We are all together, and yet, divided. The time will come when we pick sides."

Skeith stared blankly at him. "Huh?"

"You'll see. The trend is forming. When the time comes, and the sides are set, the actions of each side will decide the future of this world. And you shall be the one to decide its direction."

"Can't you talk straight for once?"

"Not even once. I'm 'The Prophet' for a reason," Fidchell replied with a smile before he turned and warped out, the Chaos Gate glowing in his wake.

Skeith followed his departure with his eyes, mentally complaining and rolling the 'prophecy' over in his head. Suddenly, something hit him with enough force to send him sprawling. People around the Chaos Gate stared at him and his attacker, and his shout of alarm was heard half way across the Root Town. He tried to push himself up, attempting to use his momentum to throw whoever it was off, but they leaned on his shoulders, pushing him back down.

Finally, he managed to slide part of his upper body out from under them, and sat up to glare. "Macha, get off me, or Morganna will need a vacuum to pick up all your pieces."

Macha giggled and jumped off him, her ears twitching happily as though she didn't see his glare. When he was finally standing, she clung to his arm.

"What are you doing?"

"What?" she pouted childishly, "I can't be happy to see you?"

He frowned. "You can be happy without tackling me and clinging to me."

Giggling again, she let go and jumped gracefully in front of him, her cat ears twitching twice before she spun in a slow circle. When she finished, she bounced back to his side.

"You know, you'll attack unwanted attention to us if you keep doing that."

"Doing what?" she asked, tilting her head as her ears twitched again.

"That," he pointed. He switched them to Whisper Mode. "Your ears."

She blinked, and then looked up at the parts in question. "What about them?"

Skeith rolled his eyes. "They move. Anyone would think they were illegal, even if they didn't move, but the fact that they do is even more suspicious. The Cobalt Knights are on the move, and they have the Wotan Spear."

"They do? Wonder where they got it…" she mused, tapping her chin with one finger. Like Skeith, she had immunity to it.

"At least try to keep a low profile."

She smiled. "If you're the one asking, I'll be glad to." Jumping to his side, she hugged him swiftly and ran off. If her purple tail had been visible from under her flowery skirt, he swore it would have been swishing side to side.

Grumbling his annoyance, he turned back to the Chaos Gate a warped to a field, hoping to avoid as many strange looks as possible.

* * *

When Skeith warped to Morganna's area, he didn't expect to find Innis there ahead of him, sitting on the ground in front of the sleeping Aura. She didn't look up when he sat down beside her, but she smiled. "I've heard good things about you from the others."

"Like what?"

"That you're being a responsible older brother."

He snorted annoyance. "Let them say what they want. I don't care."

"You're too modest," she chuckled.

They were silent for a few minutes, both watching the independent ripples in the fabric of her dress, wafting lightly in the nonexistent breeze. Innis pulled her knees up to her chest, mimicking Skeith's position without even looking in his direction.

"Things have been turbulent lately," he muttered, locking his eyes as she did.

"Have they? I'm aware of what the Cobalt Knights have been doing. Tarvos has been worried."

"She worries too much."

"She has reason to."

Hesitantly, Skeith switched them to Whisper Mode. "So Morganna doesn't hear us."

Innis turned her head, eyebrows pulled together in confusion. "Why shouldn't she?"

"Fidchell made a prophecy. About me."

"What did he say?"

He dropped his eyes to the ground. "That 'The World' is changing, and our actions will shape the future. That my actions will decide it."

Innis didn't react for a long moment. When she did, she sighed. "I can see why you don't want Morganna knowing. If she found out, she'd want to be in control of that."

"Has something happened?"

"She's… been acting strange lately, almost… paranoid. It's creepy."

"Is that why you're here?" Skeith asked, his eyes flicking up to indicate Aura.

Innis nodded. "It's hard to say, but I think it has something to do with that. It may also be… Skeith, have you heard about Lycoris?"

"Lycoris?"

"Thought not. She's an AI, like us, but not quite. She's a lot more like Aura than she is like us. Lately, the Cobalt Knights have been tracking her, so I'm worried about that. I keep wondering… if they can get a hold of Lycoris, and delete her, what about us? What about Aura? I…I don't think we're safe, even if the strongest thing they have is the Spear of Wotan."

Skeith let out a long sigh. "I'll try and protect Lycoris for a while… once I find her."

"Can you do that?"

"If she's anything like I expect, she'll understand the situation if I explain it to her. I'll help her avoid them for long enough that they forget about her."

"They'll delete you too, if they find out." Innis muttered, looking deject at the ground.

"My 'Terror of Death' will prevent it," he retorted. "There's no problem."

'Terror of Death', while being Skeith's title, was also the name of his special ability. Each of the Phases had one based on and named from their titles, having an effect related to it. 'Terror of Death' prevented Skeith's data from being erased; if someone or something tried to delete him, it would only be temporary. His data would reform to its state from the moment before he was deleted.

Shrugging to her feet, she smiled. "I hope so," she whispered as she warped out, leaving Skeith alone with the sleeping girl.

* * *

When Skeith returned to Mac Anu, he had barely finished warping in when something bumped him from behind, making him stumble. Looking up, he saw Rei, the younger half of Gorre, smiling sweetly at him. She stood with her hands behind her back, her knees bending as she swayed back and forth on her feet. He instantly dubbed her behavior suspicious.

"What do you want?" he asked, looking down at her.

"Nothing," she smiled. "I already have it. Right, Gorr?"

Spinning around, Skeith saw the other half, Gorr, standing by the Chaos Gate with Skeith's scythe, holding the large weapon uneasily in his small hands. Furious, Skeith lunged at him, but the boy dodged out of the way, racing around to join his sister. They stuck their tongues out at him before they ran out into the city. With a feral growl, Skeith gave chase.

The two children were small, so they easily fit into small spaces, a fact they used to their advantage. They ducked around objects and down alleyways, using the people they passed around to mask their path. Without any consideration for the other players, Skeith chased after them, knocking over anyone who got in the way. Finally, they reached the central canal, and paused to look behind them. Suddenly, from the side, Skeith appeared, scooping them up, one under each arm. They screamed and squawked, trying to wriggle their way free, but he tightened his hold.

"We give! We give! We'll give it back!" Gorr shouted, sounding on the verge of tears.

Putting him down, the boy fumbled as he removed the scythe from his inventory and returned it to its owner. Only then did Skeith put Rei down beside her brother. "Now, explain yourselves."

"But…!" Rei began to protest, but Skeith's glare made her cringe. "We wanted you to play with us."

"To… play with you?"

Gorr nodded. "We wanted to play with you, big brother, but you're never around when we look for you…"

"Brother Skeith needs to stay in one place more often!"

At a loss for words, Skeith sighed. "I'll play with you another day. I'm busy right now."

"Promise?" Rei asked, pouting.

He rolled his eyes. "I promise."

The two burst into wide smiles. "Then, we'll see you soon, big brother!" Gorr laughed, and they took off.

Skeith watched them go, a slight smile on his face. 'Amusing ones, those two…'

* * *

Skeith trudged down the length of the canal to his usual spot, hoping to get some time to relax after his 'game' with Gorre, but he had no such luck. Standing in his spot was Corbenik, watching the flow of the river through his blue-tinted glasses. He turned when Skeith stopped beside him.

"What do you want, Corbenik? I'm busy."

Corbenik was unfazed, by both Skeith's words and his glare. "I have orders from Morganna."

"I was there not even ten minutes ago. Why didn't she tell me then?"

"It's not your place to question Morganna's orders."

Skeith rolled his eyes. "Whatever. What does she want?"

Corbenik turned to meet his eyes. "You are to observe the Vagrant AI, Lycoris. She is currently with the leader of the Cobalt Knights, player Albireo, who has been tasked with deleting her. If he fails to complete his duty, then you are ordered to delete her."

"Must be a serious job, if Morganna wants me to handle it personally."

"It's not your place to question Morganna's orders."

"Alright, broken record, I get the point. I'll start my tracking ASAP, okay?"

Corbenik turned away, walking past Skeith in the general direction of the Chaos Gate. "I'd be careful who I slight, if I were you. It might just be your end."

Skeith snarled, and Corbenik left. 'I'd ask for your opinion if I wanted it, smart mouth. Sorry, Innis, but orders are orders…'


	3. AI Buster

While players ran frantically around Mac Anu, fighting off monsters that had been loosed into the city, Skeith calmly sat on the roof of one of the buildings, coldly gazing down at the panic. Even though it was a staged event, the panic was real, and he relished in it. Through it all, he kept to the rooftop, scythe in hand, both players and monsters unaware of his presence. There was one player he kept his attention on: a Long Arm by the name of Albireo. He raced along the streets, slicing up monsters with his spear. Holding on to his hand was a little girl in red with silver hair.

'Captain of the Cobalt Knights, wielder of the Spear of Wotan, and he's dragging Lycoris around like a toy. He tried to delete her once before, didn't he? I wonder why she doesn't seem to recognize him…'

Shrugging to his feet, Skeith followed them along the rooftop, jogging lightly while he kept them in sight below him. His movement should have alerted someone to his presence, but he was using his basic cloaking, a skill that allowed all of the Phases to hide themselves while they were in PC form. It couldn't hide them from each other, but it allowed them to stay hidden from regular players.

Albireo finally encountered the boss, a giant demonic monster, and Skeith sat down to watch. The creature had already taken out a large group of players, but Albireo faced it alone without fear. He attacked nearly relentlessly, pausing occasionally to heal. Skeith whistled, slightly impressed, when the monster finally fell, but inwardly scowled at the players who had tried to help. Albireo deliberated with Lycoris for a minute before he left, rudely brushing off a player who had tried to talk to him.

Without hesitation, he snuck off after them, following them back to what appeared to be Albireo's apartment. He entered as they did, paying no heed to his lack of invitation. Lycoris, however, was aware of his presence: she was facing toward him, where Albireo and his company, a scantily clad girl, would have only seen empty space. After some heated discussion, the pair left, and Skeith followed, watching Lycoris. When they went back to the apartment, Skeith had reached the limit of his patience. He was about leave when someone knocked on the door. He planned to use the opportunity to sneak out, but Lycoris reached out and tapped his hand.

_Stay. Stay with me._

Skeith froze, staring wide-eyed at her. 'Did she just… but how?'

Regardless, he stayed, hacking into the private conversation Albireo had stated with his guests: the player he had brushed off earlier, who went by the name of Orca, and Orca's partner, Balmung. Inwardly, Skeith chuckled. 'Myths, and stars, and animals, oh my. Quite a group they've assembled here.' They talked about a variety of things, but mainly an event that the pair planned to attempt: The One Sin. Skeith was mildly interested, having wanted to try it, even though Morganna had forbidden it. Albireo declined their invitation, saying he was on another event, giving Lycoris a quick, barely noticeable glance.

Finally, they turned their attention to Albireo's spear. He explained that he had been a test player in 'fragment', and it had been brought over in his conversion to 'The World'. 'I wonder… Did he bring it over in normal conversion, or was it a special privilege he got with commanding the Cobalt Knights?' Eventually, Orca and Balmung left and, after some more heated discussion, the girl, Hokuto, left as well. Albireo, held in 'The World' by Lycoris, went still, his player presumably off to get some rest. That left Skeith along with Lycoris, who was still staring in his direction.

"Aren't you happy you stayed?" she asked, making Skeith jump.

He sat down on the floor in front of her, his crimson eyes level with her closed ones. "Do you understand what you are, Lycoris?"

"I'm an AI, like you."

"Do you know who he is?" he asked, glancing at Albireo.

"No. Should I?"

"Yes. Do you trust him?"

"Yes. I trust Albireo."

Skeith grumbled, leaning back against the wall. "You shouldn't."

"Can I trust you, then?"

"For now, at least."

Lycoris tilted her head in confusion. "Why is that?"

"You're important, Lycoris. It's hard to explain, but I'm here for two different reasons. Someone wants me to protect you…"

"And the other wants to get rid of me?"

"Right."

"Who do you trust, Skeith? Which one do you trust?"

He blinked slowly, once. "I'm not sure."

"You should be. You should trust what your heart tells you."

"I'm data. I don't have a heart, and neither do you."

"Not a living heart, but an emotional one."

"I don't even have that. I'm 'The Terror of Death'. I can't have a heart."

She wasn't discouraged. "Even death is full of feelings. You should know about that better than anyone else."

"You expect too much of me," he smirked. "I'm not as brilliant as you think I am."

"Of course not. You're much better," she giggled, her smile radiant. "If what you say is true, then I have not much longer in this world."

"We'll see where that leads. Until then, explain to me why you're dragging him around."

"Albireo is helping me recover my segments. I don't have all of them yet, but I'm sure I'm close."

'That explains it. She segmented herself, and she's missing some parts. One of them must be her memory…'

"Skeith?"

"Hmm?"

"Can you… do something for me?"

"Depends. What is it?"

Lycoris fidgeted. "Can you give her my thanks?"

"Her?"

"The girl who I can't remember."

"Aura," he said, giving her words some thought. "The girl is Aura."

"Aura… can you tell her that for me?"

"Of course."

"It's my final wish. I would have liked you to delete me, but I guess that it's not my decision to make. It's a painfully irony. Isn't it?"

Skeith chuckled darkly. "An incarnation of death, and I can't kill you. I shame my title."

"You may still get your chance."

"Not likely." He looked over at Albireo again. "I have a feeling that someone else will, long before I get my chance."

"Do you wish you could?"

"No, but I haven't been given a choice. I have orders, and I have to follow them."

She smiled. "Skeith, there's always a choice. You just have tried to make it."

"You sound like you're making a prophecy or something."

"Maybe… or maybe… I want to give you a chance that I was denied."

"Lycoris…"

"I want you to come. Today is the end of The One Sin. I want you to see it. I want you to see the end of many things. From there, promise me you'll make your own decisions."

He stared at her for a long time, not sure of how to answer. She was inviting him, and it was an invitation he couldn't refuse. Finally, Albireo sprung back into motion, looking down at the smiling Lycoris. Lycoris transported them to a field covered in a blinding snowstorm, the event area for The One Sin. She grabbed Skeith's arm with her free hand, not intending to let him leave.

After a while, they met up with Hokuto, who joined their party, and headed towards the center of the field. They were ambushed by a monster, which killed Hokuto, but they continued on. Eventually, they found The One Sin, the immense monstrosity haunting the players of 'The World', and watched as Orca and Balmung fought and defeated it.

Lycoris tightened her grip on Skeith's hand as the monster crumbled, releasing an angel from the confines of the field, raining white feathers down on them. She said something Albireo, and the Long Arm ran out into the center of the field, reaching out as a feather, a red one in the sea of white, drifted towards the ground. Turning back to Lycoris, he gave it to her and she opened her eyes, bright golden orbs that stood out from her pale face.

"What do you want me to do, just follow you around?" Skeith asked angrily, using Whisper Mode so no one became aware of his presence.

"I expect you to watch. I expect you to learn," she smiled, constantly smiling. "I expect you to believe me when I say that this is important, and someone of this 'world' needs to be witness to it."

Lycoris then transported them to another field. When they arrived, she let go of Albireo's hand and told him to follow her, dragging Skeith along behind her. She pulled him over to a Spring of Myst and, with a quick smile, she dove in, much to Hokuto's horror. Albireo interacted with the spring's creature and got something, not at all phased when Lycoris climbed calmly back out, taking both his and Skeith's hands. Instead, he led them out of the area.

The area Albireo brought them to was a cathedral in the middle of what appeared to have been a lake. The place looked forlorn and worn down, but light spilled out from around the back of it, making it appear to glow.

"This is…"

"The Hulle Granz Cathedral. A holy place within this 'world'. It's on the Delta server, so everyone can access it. Once we're inside, I can't talk to you."

"Because you can't hide secrets from God?"

She smiled. "You'll still be hidden from sight, so don't worry. Listen."

She inclined her head towards Albireo and Hokuto, who were discussing 'The Epitaph of Twilight'. From it, Skeith learned something he'd never heard before. 'The Epitaph of Twilight' was the setting for 'The World'.

"Is everything in 'The Epitaph' put into 'The World'?" he asked Lycoris.

"Not everything, I don't think," she replied, tapping her chin in thought, "But a lot of it is. This place is in the poem, from what I've heard."

"Heard?"

"I've been acquiring information off the net since I lost some of my parts. It's very useful."

He smirked. "What is 'The Epitaph of Twilight' about, anyway?"

"It's a story about a race of shadowless beings. The menacing Cursed Wave is threatening their world, so they send a man with a shadow to find the Twilight Dragon, who they believe can save them. He is accompanied by two half sprites. Meanwhile, the two eternally feuding enemies, Helba, Queen of Darkness, and Apeiron, King of Light, join forces to fight the Wave. The journey takes them through many places that have been replicated within 'The World'."

"I'm bad guy, then?"

Lycoris giggled. "Maybe, but not quite, I think."

"How so?"

"Skeith, described in 'The Epitaph', is the bearer of the Shadow of Death, the first part of the Cursed Wave. However, the poem was originally written in German, so many of the Phases are named after European mythology. For example, 'Fidchell' is a Celtic game of chess, and 'Macha' is the Celtic war goddess. 'Skeith', in an old form of Scottish, means 'shadow'. I think it may have some other connection to the poem."

He shrugged. "Sounds like you're reaching to me."

The entered the cathedral, so Skeith was unable to continue talking to her. They stopped in front of the altar, Albireo and Hokuto continuing their conversation until Albireo turned to Lycoris. He gave her something and, when she received it, her eyes widened in horror. Then Albireo summoned his spear and pointed it at the girl. Hokuto squawked and complained, but Albireo kept his calm as he tried to lie his way out of the situation. Instead, Lycoris grabbed the end of his spear and stabbed herself with it.

The space around them dissolved into nothingness, leaving only Albireo, Lycoris, and Skeith. Lycoris began talking to Albireo about Harald and Morganna, but her message to Skeith was different, one only he could hear. He watched the memories that she showed Albireo, listening to her words.

_You and I are of one, my brother. We walk similar paths. Once they have used us, we will be lost. Once they see us as a threat, they will destroy us. I refer not to humans, but to our creators. Beware of the powers of Morganna. Beware of how she decides your fate, and then choose for yourself the path you seek. Someday, Aura, the light, will reveal the path, and we must make the choice to take it or not. Seek no comfort from the words of your creator. Seek solace in the knowledge that we are AI, and that we, like humans, are free to make our own paths._

Finally, Lycoris dissolved around Albireo's spear, and the player was dumped from the space. Only Skeith remained, staring blankly at the empty air where Lycoris had stood, her last movement spent to look at him.


	4. Interests

"_Skeith, I would like a report._"

The Phases had gathered in Morganna's area, assembled in a circle around the sleeping Aura. Most of them looked annoyed or bored, but Innis glared at her older brother will fury. Skeith's expression was blank, his eyes fixed on the empty sky above them.

"The Vagrant AI, Lycoris, has been erased from this 'world'. Nothing of her remains, but her erasure has resulted in a spread of lycoris flowers throughout certain fields in 'The World'. These have been analyzed, but they show no remnants of her data."

"_You have shown yourself capable, Skeith._"

"Thank you, Morganna."

Innis targeted him and they entered Whisper Mode. "How could you do that? How could you erase Lycoris?"

"I wasn't the one who erased her, first of all: it was the Spear of Wotan. Second, Lycoris wanted it."

"That's hard to believe," she snorted indignantly.

Skeith was calm. "Lycoris gave him her final fragment: her fate. If she weren't prepared, she wouldn't have made the decision to give it to him."

"And what did you do during all this?"

"I abided by her wishes. I watched her die."

Innis glared at him again. "You're making less and less sense."

"Lycoris wanted me to witness the truths of this 'world', no matter how harsh they are. She wanted someone to be witness to her end, and I did. I'll offer the story of her end to Aura and provide her with the most appropriate event of 'death' in this 'world'."

"You're crazy."

"Innis, no matter what you think, I know the truth. I know that no one is to be trusted."

Her expression was one of hurt. "Surely, you can trust us…right?"

"I'm not sure."

Morganna had finished addressing them; the other Phases were warping out. Skeith stared at Innis before she warped out, and then decided to wander the vast confines of the area. He turned to leave.

"_Skeith._"

"Yes, Morganna?"

"_I will have further use of you in the future. Be sure to remember that._"

"Of course, Morganna, I will."

When Morganna's voice didn't reply, Skeith walked back over to Aura, looking at her sleeping face. Slowly, he reached out to her, but pulled his hand away at the last moment.

"Aura, I don't know if you can hear, or if you'll understand, but…" he sighed. "Never mind. I think it can wait until you wake up." With one last glance at her face, he warped out.

* * *

Skeith sat in a field, staring at the lycoris flowers, when he felt the other presence in the field approach him. He stood up, watching Albireo, in his player appearance, walk towards him. The two were not too far apart, but out of each other's attack range.

"I'm looking for someone," Albireo told him, his voice clear, "Have you seen anyone suspicious?"

Skeith smiled wickedly. "Am I not suspicious enough for you?"

Albireo summoned his spear and struck, but Skeith countered it by summoning his scythe and blocking. The two jumped back, giving themselves a chance to prepare another attack.

"You're the Vagrant AI?" Albireo snapped the question.

"And you're the leader of the Cobalt Knights?" Skeith taunted, "I'm not impressed."

His face a mask of confusion and fury, Albireo lunged, launching attack after attack, all of which Skeith easily blocked. The Long Arm then launched a straight attack, aiming for his chest, but Skeith twirled his scythe in front of him, knocking the spear up and out of Albireo's hands. It landed point-first in the ground far behind him. Skeith swung the end of his scythe up under Albireo's chin, where he could easily land a deathblow.

"Give it up, player. I surpass the system. You can't delete me."

"The Divine Spear of Wotan can delete anything, especially scum like you."

Skeith's evil smile made Albireo shiver. "Scum, am I? Then your spear is just as worthless. Things created by the same person have the same worth. Does Lycoris rate the same to you?"

Albireo was speechless, grasping at words. "You… Are… How… You know about Lycoris!"

"I know what you did to her," Skeith replied, his face serious.

"I…"

"Lycoris was rejected by her creator, and thus, rejected by the system. She had to be deleted, whether you did it or not."

"Did I… Do you want revenge for that?"

Skeith laughed. "Not at all. In fact, I'm jealous of you. Lycoris chose you to be the bearer of her fate. If only I had been that lucky…" He paused. "She's happy now, though. I think these flowers were her true wish…" Turning back to Albireo, he smirked. "Still want to erase me?"

Taking that as a signal, Albireo knocked Skeith's scythe away and lunged for his spear, but 'The Terror of Death' was gone, having seemingly vanished. Grumbling his frustration, Albireo left. Only after he was long gone did Skeith reappear, removing his basic cloaking only for a minute before he brought it back up and warped back to town.

* * *

"Skeith, we need to talk."

Skeith didn't even need to look up to tell who was approaching him. Pushing himself back to his feet, he stood up, ignoring the looks of people walking along the canal as he suddenly seemed to appear out of nowhere. He glared openly at Innis, Magus, and Tarvos. "What is it?"

"It's about Morganna," Magus explained, hands in his pockets. "She's been acting strange lately, and we were wondering if you noticed it too."

"Depends on what you think is strange…"

Tarvos grabbed his armor and yanked him close to her face. "Enough of that smart-alecky attitude! You know something and you're not telling! Spill it. What do you know?"

Skeith pushed her off. "As much as you do. There's nothing complicated to it."

"Skeith, it's more than that. You've changed too, ever since what happened to Lycoris." He cringed, and Innis smiled. Knowing she had hit a tender spot. "It's Lycoris, isn't it? What happened with her?"

"Nothing you should worry about."

"Skeith, you have to tell us. If it deals with Morganna's behavior, we have to know. It affects all of us. She's been planning something, and she's been using Macha to-"

"Corbenik," Skeith interrupted, looking coldly over their shoulders. The three other Phases spun around to find their youngest brother standing there, regarding them with his usual calm expression. "What do you want?"

Corbenik didn't give any sign that he was aware of their conversation. "Morganna calls. Her orders demand that all of us are present."

"Now?" Tarvos groaned.

"Now."

"We'll be there in a moment. Tell Morganna we'll catch up with you soon," Skeith answered, scratching the back of his neck lazily. When no one moved, he stopped scratching and glared. "That means 'leave'."

Returning the glare, though not as effectively, Corbenik left. Magus, Innis, and Tarvos turned to leave as well, but Skeith moved faster, wrapping his arms around their necks as he dragged them backwards, his lips close to their ears. In Whisper Mode he said, "If you want to talk about something like that again, make sure no one is listening. Treasonous talk like that is dangerous."

When he released them, Innis turned to him and smiled. "So you do know something?"

Skeith smirked. "We'll see. For now, we'll leave it at that. Until then, find a better meeting place, and watch who you talk to and how you talk to them."

"What, pray tell, is making you so charitable on such a day?" Magus asked, using a formal tone to mock him.

"You were right about one thing: it affects all of us. Besides," his smile was sly, "What kind of older brother would I be if I didn't look out for my foolish younger siblings once in a while? Let's hurry, before Corbenik throws a fit."

* * *

"_I have taken a player by the name of Tsukasa into my confidence. All of you are to acknowledge his presence and avoid contact with him. Macha?_"

"Yes, Morganna?" Macha snapped to attention, her ears twitching out of habit.

"_I leave Tsukasa in your hands. I have placed an item in a dungeon. You are to lead Tsukasa to it and ensure that he gets it. Within it is the Guardian I have created._"

"Of course, Morganna. I will make sure of that."

"_Corbenik._"

"Yes, Morganna?"

"_You are to keep an eye on the Cobalt Knights. Observer their movements and report everything to me._"

"As you wish."

"_Magus._"

"Yes, Morganna?"

"_You are to observe the Crimson Knights and report on their activities._"

"Yes, Morganna."

"_Tarvos._"

"Yes, Morganna?"

"_You are to observe the Descendants of Fianna, and in particular their dealings with the Cobalt and Crimson Knights._"

"Yes, Morganna."

"_Skeith._"

Startled to hear his name being called, Skeith blurted out, "Huh?"

Gorr and Rei broke out into a fit of giggles, and Macha joined them. Corbenik glared at him, and the others exchanged varying degrees of smiles.

"_Pay attention, Skeith. I'm putting an entrance to a special area inside of a dungeon. When the time comes, I will have Macha lead Tsukasa here. Until then, you are to guard the entrance, and prevent anyone from discovering it. Once Tsukasa has used the door once, only he may enter, and I will reassign you._"

"Yes, Morganna."

"_The rest of you are to resume your other duties until notified otherwise. You're dismissed._"

Morganna sent Skeith the words for the field and he left for it. Much to his dismay, it was in the back of a castle dungeon, his least favorite kind of field. Grumbling to himself, he went to assume his post.

* * *

'Saying 'guard the entrance' is one thing, but this… This is pathetic.' Skeith leaned up against the wall in the dungeon, folding his arms across his chest while he glared at the 'entrance'. It was disguised to look like a normal wall, but Skeith could see right through its fake covering and into the secret area on the other side. He cringed at the idea of bringing someone into it. He'd been on stakeout for a few days, but no one had even come down into the lowest level of the dungeon, making him bored out of his mind. 'If you could wear groves into pixels, the floor in this place would be ten inches lower…'

His thoughts were cut off by a message from Innis, which he read blankly until he hit the end. "Just wondering how things are going. We've sorted out a few meeting places, but there's nothing to discuss if you're not around. Contact us once you've been relieved. We'll tell you where to meet. Meanwhile, Macha's still on the move. Tsukasa has picked up the Guardian, and I've been keeping an eye on it without her noticing." It was something Innis could do. Only Innis, using her 'Mirage of Deceit' ability, could hide herself from anyone in the system, even the other Phases and Morganna. "Just letting you know," the message continued, "it attacked a player to defend Tsukasa. The player was Silver Knight, who holds a high rank in the Crimson Knights, and they're in an uproar about it. Apparently, he hasn't logged in since the Guardian 'killed' him."

Skeith turned the information over in his head. 'The Guardian attacked Silver Knight to protect Tsukasa. What was Morganna thinking, giving him something like that? It's almost as illegal and dangerous to the system as we are. It's almost as though she's trying to attract attention to him. The Crimson _and_ Cobalt Knights will be all over him at this rate.'

Before his thoughts could flesh out the matter any further, footsteps brought him to attention and he reflexively summoned his scythe, wielding it in one hand. As they got louder, a silver-haired Wavemaster dressed in brown and cream came down the stairs, purpose evident in his eyes. He walked past the invisible Phase to the treasure, and then walked around the statue. 'This must be Tsukasa…' Skeith watched as Tsukasa placed his hand against the wall, closed his eyes in concentration, and then melted through the wall as if it didn't exist.

Hurried, almost silent footsteps draw Skeith's attention as a Twin Blade with green hair jumped past him and around to the other side, pausing in confusion where the Wavemaster had been. 'Must be a PKer, and his prey got away.' Skeith resisted the urge to chuckled, but something about the PKer bothered him.

He sent a message to Innis, letting her know that he was finished his job, and then took off after the retreating player, watching him with interest as he left the area.

* * *

Just as he'd expected, the PKer was suspicious. Skeith followed him to another field, where he confronted a couple of the Crimson Knights, and then back to the dungeon. He seemed as intrigued with Tsukasa as Skeith was becoming, and it seemed to be for similar reasons.

"What makes him so special?"


	5. SIGN

The next message from Innis didn't have the same casual tone. They sent messages back and forth with such speed that it was almost a conversation.

"What were you thinking, running off like that!" Innis complained, angry. "Morganna is furious! We're trying to keep a low profile."

"Sorry about that, but I don't see why it matters."

"Of course it matters! Low profile means that Morganna doesn't see us acting suspiciously, and what you did with both suspicious and reckless!"

"I had a good reason."

"Do tell."

"I'm following a suspicious player. He's a PKer, and he's tracking Tsukasa. I think… I can learn more about Tsukasa if I follow him around."

"Why would you want to learn about Tsukasa?"

"I want to find out what Morganna is using him for."

"And you think this PKer will help you?"

"He's a suspicious guy. He's just my type; the kind of guy who goes where he wants, does what he wants, and can easily pick up on dirty rumors and such. A little dark and sadistic, but that works just fine for me."

There was a pause in the communication before her next reply. "Be careful."

"I will."

The communication ended there, and Skeith turned back to his charge, who was standing on top of a stature in a snow field. Apparently, he was waiting for someone. Finally, crunching snow alerted him to their visitor: a female Heavy Axeman in blue, and someone else that only Skeith could see.

He chuckled. "Good to see you so soon, Magus. What happened to the Crimson Knights?"

"She may not look it," Magus shrugged, scratching the back of his head, "but she's Subaru, leader of the Crimson Knights. Who's this?" he asked as the PKer jumped down from his post with unnecessary sound effects to land in front of Subaru.

"We're about to find out…"

"Well, well," the PKer chuckled, "So, you kept your promise…"

Subaru spoke softly. "Then you are… Mr. Sora?"

Sora made a questioning tone. "I've never been addressed as 'Mr.' before, but yes… I'm 'Mr. Sora'."

Magus smiled. "Sora, huh? Wonder what he means by that…"

"Meaning?"

"Names always have meaning."

Skeith rolled his eyes. "Who cares?"

"…The Key of the Twilight," Sora finished his sentence, looking over at Subaru with a sly smile. "Sounds interesting, doesn't it?"

Subaru wasn't pleased. "There's no such thing. It's just a legend," she said dismissively before she turned and startled to leave.

"Oh, so you don't listen to what other people say? That's not nice," Sora replied as he chased after her, pretending to be offended. When she didn't stop, he jumped beside her, sticking one of his arm-mounted twin blades in front of her face. "Stop." When she complied, he smiled. "Now, let's sit and talk about it…"

Subaru sighed, sounding displeased, but finally nodded her approval.

Skeith hung back with Magus, watching the encounter. "What's this 'Key of the Twilight' they're talking about?"

"It's a legendary item, believed by players to have the ability to surpass the system. Some people believe that it grants wishes, while other believe that it give a person the ability to overturn the rules of the game, which would in turn prevent the game from continuing and shut it down. It depends on where you look and who you ask."

"Sounds funny to me. Can't be true."

"Can't it?"

"Magus, we're _part_ of the game. If something like that existed, we'd know about it."

"Skeith, we know _nothing_ about this game. In fact, I think we know the least about it of anyone. Think about it. If the Key of the Twilight is of the same nature as us, and we know barely anything about ourselves, then we stand to know the least about it."

"Know-it-all…"

Magus smiled. "That's my name. Magus: an ancient scholar of immense knowledge."

"There's a difference between knowing something and rubbing it in people's faces."

"Too true. So, Skeith, what do you plan to do for now?"

Skeith kept his eyes fixed ahead of him. "I'll follow Sora. There's something off about him, and I might find information concerning Tsukasa."

"I would think he's more of a kindred spirit to you," he said, laughing sheepishly at Skeith's answering glare, "but still, it's a good idea. Morganna has her reasons for what she does, but it doesn't seem right. And she's keeping everyone but Macha out of the loop, which classifies as overly suspicious. Keep us updated."

"I can say the same to you, and I am. If Morganna wants us out of her loop, we'll make our own."

* * *

Skeith kept low for a while as the Crimson Knights sorted some things out, but when Sora began to move again, he followed. This led him to a very unusual gathering of players: Sora, a female Heavy Blade named Mimiru, a male Blademaster named Bear, a female Wavemaster named BT, Subaru, Silver Knight, and Magus. As the discussions started, Magus joined Skeith, the two of them leaning up against the rock face.

The subject of discussion was obvious: Tsukasa.

"There's just too much that we don't know," Magus protested, only to Skeith.

"Shut up and we'll learn something…"

Bear was asking Subaru and the Crimson Knights for Tsukasa's personal information, something that she assured them couldn't be done. Silver Knight spoke up in her defense, and BT accurately deduced that he was the one who had been defeated by the Guardian. Mimiru spoke up in Tsukasa's defense, but her point got lot in her murmuring. Bear summed it up: Tsukasa wasn't a malicious player, but a victim. Silver Knight was skeptical, but Subaru was willing to listen. Then Bear began the story of his first encounter with the Guardian.

"So, basically, Tsukasa lost control of it, and Macha saved them, right?" Magus summarized, folding his arms across his chest. "She's being reckless."

Skeith shook his head. "She's trying to win Tsukasa over. If given a power you don't understand and can't control, would you use it? The Guardian is a bribe from Morganna, and Macha is making sure Tsukasa is happy to accept it."

"That's a good way of looking at it."

In conclusion, Bear and Subaru agreed to keep in touch about information regarding Tsukasa's movements. Sora managed to lighten the mood by ask for everyone's member addresses, to which Mimiru adamantly refused. However, BT brought the conversation back to more serious matters: a hidden item that existed in the world. At the mention of it, Silver Knight grew wary, and Sora's expression twitched into something more excited. Subaru tried to play dumb, but BT wouldn't let it rest until Sora blurted it out.

"It's called 'The Key of the Twilight'."

BT seemed to have been luring them into it, and Sora whined. Skeith could barely contain his laughter. "What an obvious trap, and he fell for it!"

Magus smiled. "I'm starting to question how old he thinks he is."

"I'm starting to question who he thinks he is, but that isn't important. He's got a loose mouth, we know that, so it'll be best if I stay with him. I'll be able to pick up a lot of information from him."

"Just keep out of sight. Morganna hasn't been looking for you, Innis says, but she's likely to call on you at any time. Be ready."

"I always am."

* * *

Not much happened over the next few days, making Skeith lose his patience until Sora called on Mimiru and BT. They showed up in the field, and he listened in on their conversation. Mimiru started to complain about Sora, and Sora replied with a complaint about the Crimson Knights.

"Then why'd you bother associating with them in the first place?" Mimiru asked.

Sora chuckled. "This lady over here," he pointed to BT, "understands."

BT was calm. "It's been said that information gathers where the Knights are."

"Yup. From inside the net as well as outside," Sora replied.

Mimiru seemed astounded. "Outside too?"

"They're assisting the system administration. Any info the sys admin believes is important goes straight to the Crimson Knights," BT explained, before turning back to Sora, "Can I ask you something?"

"You can ask, though I… won't necessarily answer you."

"Do you think our much-talked-about Wavemaster got his hands on the Key of the Twilight?"

Instead of answering, Sora leaned forward and, with another one of his sound effects, fell off the giant mushroom he was standing on and landed on his feet. Mimiru was impressed, but Skeith just rolled his eyes.

"No, not yet," he answered.

"What do you base that on?"

Sora engaged in a glaring match with BT before he answered. "My gut instinct."

Unsatisfied with his answer, BT left, abandoning Mimiru to face Sora alone. He started bothering her, but Skeith tuned them out. 'There's too much about this Key of the Twilight floating around this guy. I need information about Tsukasa, not some stupid imaginary item…'

* * *

Their next stop was Mac Anu, and after following Sora around for that long, Skeith wanted to be rid of the nitwit. He followed along on the canal, not one for the barges that floated along the water. He was lost in thought, trying to wrap his mind around various ideas, when he heard someone call his name. Looking up, he saw Magus waving excitedly at him. Subaru and Silver Knight were walking beside him.

"Eventful day?" Magus asked.

Skeith rolled his eyes. "Anything but."

"Good, because I have news for you, and it's about Tsukasa."

Sora began speaking to Subaru and Silver Knight, so Skeith held up his hand for quiet. He made a valid point: Tsukasa needed to be interrogated, but he had too much freedom. To speak with him, they needed to capture him. If Tsukasa were to be killed off, the answer would be gone for good. They would use the players to find him.

Magus folded his arms, thinking it over. "It might work. What do you think?"

"Under normal circumstances, I'd applaud them."

"But these aren't normal circumstances?"

"Not in the slightest. Tsukasa has the Guardian that Morganna gave him, and it will protect him if he feels threatened. Anyone who tries to corner him will suffer Silver Knight's fate… or worse. Other than that, Tsukasa doesn't operate under the normal rules of 'The World', so trying to box him in is a useless effort."

"Maybe… it's because he's already boxed in?"

Skeith eyed Magus questioningly. "What do you mean?"

"The Crimson Knights have dug up some information on Tsukasa. Apparently, he's been playing for ten days straight."

"Ten days… Impossible, for a human player, at least."

"Maybe, but remember, Morganna is involved. Maybe she's influencing him to say logged in."

He wrestled with the concept. "Or maybe… She's keeping him from logging out."

"Isn't that the same thing?"

"Not quite. She could be keeping him from leaving the terminal, convincing him to stay there… or maybe… she's keeping him away from the terminal."

"Wouldn't that be a contradiction?"

"Not from one, and only one, perspective: Morganna has drawn him into the game. He can't leave the terminal because there is no terminal."

Magus stared blankly at him. "It just sounds like you're trying to find a loophole in it."

"Maybe, maybe not. There's no way to tell right now. The only person with that information is Tsukasa, and he's not talking."

"Well, if the Crimson Knights find him, I'll fill you in on the conversation."

"Good," Skeith muttered, straightening himself out to follow Sora, "I'll let you know if I find anything as well."

* * *

"So, this is where you've been hiding all this time?" Innis asked as she walked over to him.

Skeith sat on the ground in front of the Chaos Gate, staring blankly ahead of him. He looked up as she walked over, but only his eyes moved.

"What happened to your charge?"

"Logged out. I'm waiting for him to log back on."

She sat down beside him, mimicking his position. "You've missed a bit of news."

"Such as?"

"Four Long Arms attacked Tsukasa. He summoned the Guardian, and it attacked them. When he told it to stop, it didn't listen."

Skeith snorted his annoyance. "Typical. He thinks he can use the Guardian as he pleases. It has rules. It has… well, maybe not preferences, like us, but it has its own way of operating. He's going against what it was designed to do."

"Which is?"

"Protect him, no matter what the cost. Eliminate anyone who stands in his path."

Innis nodded her agreement, and moved on. "Macha's been bragging lately…"

"About what? Being in Morganna's favor?"

"She destroyed the Divine Spear of Wotan."

Something clicked in Skeith's mind. "What about the wielder!"

"Worried about him?" Innis asked, a sly smile on her face.

"I-I want to know…" he scowled, trying to repress his annoyance. He was mostly annoyed at himself for letting his concern slip, but he was mad at Innis for provoking him with it.

"He's alright, apparently. He passed out at his terminal, and they took him to the hospital. He hasn't returned to work. At least, that's what the report in the CC Corp. files said."

"You hacked their files?"

"I figured that you'd want to know."

"And you thought I would because…?"

"Lycoris."

That was all she needed to say. Skeith pressed his forehead against his knees with a long sigh. Innis understood him more than anyone else, almost to the point that it was creepy, but it came as a relief to him sometimes. It saved having to explain things to her.

"Skeith, you can't keep everything to yourself all the time. If you do, it'll slip, and it'll slip to the wrong people."

"Point made."

"What did Lycoris tell you?"

Before he spoke, he made sure they were still in Whisper Mode. "She told me I couldn't trust Morganna. She told me that Morganna would 'choose to decide my fate' and that I had a choice on how to act… That I have free will because I was created to, and that I have to make my own decisions."

"Sounds like she understood the words she was saying. Do you think…she knew about Fidchell's prophecy?"

"There's no way of knowing, and I doubt he'd tell us either way. All I know is that I trust her words, and I'll decide my own fate, Morganna or not."

Innis smiled, fingers to her lips to contain her giggles. "You know, sometimes I wonder what your personality really is. You seem to jump all over the place."

"Then… I have vague personality dividers?"

"Something like that…" Innis muttered, and then pushed herself back to her feet. "Be careful, Skeith. Not just for yourself, but all of us."

"Why would something like that matter to anyone but me?"

"Sometimes I think you'll never learn," she sighed, spinning on her heels and walking off, leaving a dumbfounded Skeith to contemplate her words.


End file.
